Marathon Seasonal Wipes Explained: Bungie Details Inventory Resets and Fresh Starts Every Three Months

Bungie has outlined how seasonal resets and inventory wipes will function in Marathon, its upcoming extraction shooter launching March 5, 2026, revealing that players will lose most progression every three months to maintain a level playing field and keep the high-stakes gameplay engaging.

The seasonal wipe system represents a core pillar of Marathon's live-service structure, with each season lasting approximately three months. When a new season begins, all players will start from scratch, losing their accumulated gear, contract progression, faction progression, and player level. The first wipe is scheduled for June 2026 when Season 2: Nightfall launches.

"Everyone will start fresh each season with nothing to their name and the constant threat of death in a world more lethal and powerful than you are," Bungie stated in its Season 1 blog post. The studio emphasized that seasonal resets ensure the game stays dangerous, loot feels meaningful, and players can jump in at any point without feeling behind the curve.

However, not everything disappears with each wipe. Players will retain achievements, customization options including both earned and paid cosmetics, titles, milestone rewards, and Codex progression. Crucially, Liaison contract progression also carries over between seasons, meaning players won't need to unlock the six factions repeatedly each season.

The reset system aims to encourage players to use their best gear rather than hoarding it, particularly as a season draws to a close. Bungie described the approach as "a way to say goodbye to the old, welcome the new, and kick off a journey from zero-to-hero with new ways to play, content to master, and things to discover."

Season 1, titled "Death Is The First Step," runs from March through May 2026 and launches alongside the game on March 5 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The season features a full slate of launch content, including all six factions (with Sekiguchi Genetics as the sixth), six Runner shells including Thief, three zones with Outpost unlocking the day after launch, and 28 weapons plus various mods, implants, and cores for build crafting.

Additional content will roll out throughout Season 1, including the fourth zone Cryo Archive on the derelict UESC Marathon ship, where players will solve security puzzles and unseal frozen vaults. Ranked Mode launches in the second half of March, allowing players to climb ladders and earn exclusive seasonal rewards. The season will also introduce a limited-time event called C.A.R.R.I., a new weapon, new Implants, and mid-season balance tuning.

Season 2: Nightfall arrives in June 2026 with its own unique theme and content. Players will experience a nighttime version of Dire Marsh featuring darkness gameplay and increased UESC reinforcements. The season introduces a new system called the Cradle, designed to give players greater control over their Runner shell's statistical strengths and weaknesses. Additional content includes a new Runner shell, weapons, mods, cores, and contracts.

Bungie emphasized that all seasonal content—including gear, Runner shells, zones, maps, and events—will be free for all players to access or earn in-game, with no expansions or DLC required. This represents a significant commitment in the live-service space, where Bungie has extensive experience through Destiny 2.

The studio indicated that Marathon's world will evolve meaningfully over time, with player actions on Tau Ceti IV impacting the planet across seasons. Season 3 is scheduled for August through November 2026, though details remain under wraps.

Each season will feature a unique combination of new features, content, and story beats that continue evolving the world and gameplay. Seasonal updates can include any combination of weapons, mods, cores, implants, backpacks, Runner shells, zones, PvE combatants, faction upgrades, contracts, and new ways to experience existing zones.

Marathon launches March 5, 2026, with Season 1 marking the beginning of what Bungie describes as a proxy war between rival factions competing to uncover what happened to the 30,000 lost souls of the New Cascadia Colony.